An expanded beam fiber optic contact

Abstract

This invention provides a fiber optic expander contact, comprising a sleeve assembly and a housing assembly. The sleeve assembly includes a sleeve and a self-focusing lens fixed to the front end of the sleeve. The housing assembly is detachably disposed at the end of the sleeve, and a pin inserted into the sleeve and in contact with the self-focusing lens is fixed within the housing assembly. The pin contains an optical fiber that focuses with the self-focusing lens. The fiber optic expander contact designed in this invention uses a high-precision self-focusing lens, eliminating the need for a high-precision six-dimensional adjustment frame during coupling. Furthermore, the housing assembly is detachably mounted on the sleeve assembly, enabling replacement and cleaning of any damaged or contaminated component, facilitating on-site repair, and providing the fiber optic expander contact with advantages such as strong anti-pollution performance, long lifespan, strong vibration and shock resistance, and ease of cleaning.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of fiber optic connector technology, specifically to a fiber optic contact for expanding beams. Background Technology

[0002] The beam expander fiber optic contactor is a new type of fiber optic connector. Its difference from traditional termination-type fiber optic contactors lies in its contact element, which incorporates the beam expanding and collimating effect of a lens, enabling contactless transmission of optical signals. The beam emitted through the lens can be expanded tens to hundreds of times, significantly reducing the impact of small contaminants on signal transmission. Simultaneously, the lens has a larger surface diameter, facilitating cleaning. The contactless structure avoids wear and tear on the fiber optic ferrule contacts found in ordinary fiber optic connectors, thus extending service life. After signal expansion and collimation, the impact of minor misalignments is relatively small compared to the expanded beam diameter, greatly improving the fiber optic connector's resistance to vibration and shock.

[0003] However, most current fiber optic expansion contacts are integrated units. When a part is damaged or contaminated, it cannot be maintained on-site and can only be replaced with a new fiber optic expansion contact.

[0004] Therefore, existing fiber optic contacts need to be improved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the issues of existing fiber optic expander contacts not being able to be maintained on-site and the long repair time for fiber optic expander connectors, this invention discloses a fiber optic expander contact.

[0006] The technical solution to achieve the purpose of the invention is as follows: A fiber optic expander contact, comprising:

[0007] A sleeve assembly, the sleeve assembly including a sleeve and a self-focusing lens fixed to the front end of the sleeve.

[0008] The housing assembly is detachably disposed at the end of the sleeve, and a pin is fixed inside the housing assembly, which is inserted into the sleeve and contacts the self-focusing lens, and the pin is provided with an optical fiber for focusing the self-focusing lens.

[0009] In one embodiment of the housing assembly, the housing assembly includes:

[0010] A first housing, the front end of which is fitted onto the end of the sleeve.

[0011] The second housing is detachably mounted at the end of the first housing, and the pin is inserted and fixed at the front end of the second housing.

[0012] In an optional embodiment, the inner wall of the first housing end is provided with an internal thread, and the second housing is provided with an external thread that mates with the internal thread.

[0013] In an optional embodiment, the second housing is provided with an extension cavity for the optical fiber.

[0014] In an optional embodiment, a heat shrink tubing is provided on the outer wall of the end of the second housing.

[0015] In one embodiment of the self-focusing lens, the self-focusing lens is bonded to the inner wall of one end of the sleeve.

[0016] In an optional embodiment, there is a distance between the self-focusing lens and the opening at the front end of the sleeve, more preferably, the distance is 0.1 to 0.2 mm.

[0017] In one embodiment of the sleeve, the sleeve is a ceramic sleeve.

[0018] In one embodiment of the pin, the pin is a ceramic pin.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: the expanded fiber contact designed in the present invention is a novel contact structure, which adopts a high-precision self-focusing lens, which can ensure that the lens focal point is on the lens end face. During the coupling process, there is no need to use a high-precision six-dimensional adjustment frame, which can simplify the coupling process of the expanded fiber contact.

[0020] Meanwhile, the housing assembly of the expanded fiber optic contact is detachably mounted on the sleeve assembly, which enables the replacement and cleaning of any damaged or contaminated component, making the product feasible for on-site maintenance. This gives the expanded fiber optic contact advantages such as strong anti-pollution performance, long lifespan, strong vibration and shock resistance, and easy cleaning. Attached Figure Description

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the fiber optic expander contact in a specific implementation embodiment;

[0023] Among them, 1 is a self-focusing lens; 2 is a sleeve; 3 is a pin; 4 is a first housing; 41 is a connecting part; 5 is a second housing; 51 is an extension cavity; and 52 is a boss. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The present invention will be further described below with reference to specific embodiments, and the advantages and features of the present invention will become clearer as a result. However, these embodiments are merely exemplary and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or substitutions can be made to the details and form of the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, but all such modifications and substitutions fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0025] This specific embodiment discloses a fiber optic expander contact, which includes a sleeve assembly and a housing assembly. The sleeve assembly and the housing assembly are detachably connected to enable maintenance operations such as replacement and cleaning of the lens and ferrule in the fiber optic expander contact.

[0026] See Figure 1 As shown, the sleeve assembly includes a sleeve 2 and a lens fixed to the front end of the sleeve 2. The lens is preferably a self-focusing lens 1, which is a cylindrical optical lens with a refractive index distribution that gradually decreases radially. The principle is that because its refractive index gradually decreases radially, it can cause continuous refraction of light transmitted along the axial direction. Thus, depending on the selection of the length of the self-focusing lens, the light can be collimated or converged to a point for focusing and imaging.

[0027] Optionally, see Figure 1 As shown, the self-focusing lens 1 is fixed to the inner wall of one end of the sleeve 2 by means of adhesive bonding.

[0028] Optionally, there is a distance between the self-focusing lens 1 and the front opening of the sleeve 2. This can prevent the mirror surface of the self-focusing lens 1 from being contaminated by the outside world, and ensure that the self-focusing lens does not contact when the contact parts are mated, thereby preventing damage to the surface of the self-focusing lens from affecting its service life during repeated mating. For example, the distance between the self-focusing lens 1 and the front opening of the sleeve 2 can be selected as 0.1 to 0.2 mm, with 0.15 mm being preferred.

[0029] Optionally, in one embodiment of the sleeve 2, the sleeve 2 is a ceramic sleeve.

[0030] In this specific embodiment, the end of the pin 3 is fixed to the housing assembly, and its front end is inserted into the sleeve 2 to contact the self-focusing lens 1. The housing assembly allows the pin 3 to be quickly removed from the sleeve 2 for cleaning, maintenance, or replacement.

[0031] See Figure 1 As shown, the housing assembly is detachably disposed at the end of the sleeve 2, and a pin 3 is fixed inside the housing assembly, which is inserted into the sleeve 2 and contacts the self-focusing lens 1. The pin 3 is provided with an optical fiber (not shown in the figure) that focuses on the self-focusing lens 1.

[0032] Optionally, the aforementioned pin 3 is a ceramic pin.

[0033] In one embodiment of the housing assembly, see Figure 1 As shown, the aforementioned housing assembly includes a first housing 4 and a second housing 5.

[0034] The front end of the first housing 4 is sleeved on the end of the sleeve 2. Specifically, the first housing 4 and the sleeve 2 are connected by an interference fit. At the same time, a connecting part 41 is provided on the outer wall of the first housing 4 to realize the assembly of the fiber optic contact with other components.

[0035] The second housing 5 is detachably mounted at the end of the first housing 4, and the pin 3 is inserted and fixed at the front end of the second housing 5.

[0036] Optionally, the first housing 4 and the second housing 5 can be connected by threads. Specifically, the first housing 4 has an internal thread on its inner wall at the end, and the second housing 5 has an external thread that mates with the internal thread.

[0037] Optionally, see Figure 1 As shown, the second housing 5 is provided with an extension cavity 51 for optical fiber. The extension cavity 51 can, on the one hand, adjust the position of the pin 3 in the second housing 5 according to the length of the pin 3, the length of the sleeve 2, the length of the optical fiber, and the connection length between the second housing 5 and the first housing 4, so as to prevent the pin 3 from extending out of the end of the second housing 5; on the other hand, it can protect the optical fiber that extends out of the pin 3.

[0038] Optionally, see Figure 1 As shown, a boss 52 is machined on the outer wall of the end of the second housing 5. A protective component (not shown in the figure) is provided on the boss 52, such as a heat shrink tubing or a crimping ring. The protective component can protect the optical fiber in the second housing 5 to prevent the optical fiber from shaking in the second housing 5, and can also prevent the optical fiber from breaking when pulled.

[0039] The fiber optic expander contact designed in this invention is a novel contact structure. It uses a high-precision self-focusing lens, which can ensure that the lens focal point is on the lens end face. During the coupling process, there is no need to use a high-precision six-dimensional adjustment frame, which simplifies the coupling process of the fiber optic expander contact.

[0040] Meanwhile, the housing assembly of the expanded fiber optic contact is detachably mounted on the sleeve assembly, which enables the replacement and cleaning of any damaged or contaminated component, making the product feasible for on-site maintenance. This gives the expanded fiber optic contact advantages such as strong anti-pollution performance, long lifespan, strong vibration and shock resistance, and easy cleaning.

[0041] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0042] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A fiber optic expander contact, characterized in that, include: A sleeve assembly, the sleeve assembly including a sleeve (2) and a self-focusing lens (1) fixed to the front end of the sleeve (2), the distance between the self-focusing lens (1) and the front end opening of the sleeve (2) is 0.1~0.2mm; The housing assembly is detachably disposed at the end of the sleeve (2), and a pin (3) is fixed inside the housing assembly, which is inserted into the sleeve (2) and contacts the self-focusing lens (1), and the pin (3) is provided with an optical fiber that focuses on the self-focusing lens (1); The housing assembly includes a first housing (4) and a second housing (5). The front end of the first housing (4) is sleeved on the end of the sleeve (2). The second housing (5) is detachably installed on the end of the first housing (4). The pin (3) is inserted and fixed at the front end of the second housing (5). The second housing (5) is provided with an extension cavity (51) for the optical fiber. The extension cavity (51) is used to adjust the position of the ferrule (3) in the second housing (5) and to protect the optical fiber. A boss (52) is machined on the outer wall of the end of the second housing (5), and a protective component is provided on the boss (52). The outer wall of the first housing (4) is provided with a connecting part (41) to enable assembly with other components.

2. The fiber optic expander contact according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first housing (4) has an internal thread on its inner wall at the end, and the second housing (5) has an external thread that mates with the internal thread.

3. The fiber optic expander contact according to claim 1, characterized in that: The self-focusing lens (1) is bonded to the inner wall of one end of the sleeve (2).

4. The fiber optic expander contact according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The sleeve (2) is a ceramic sleeve.

5. The fiber optic expander contact according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The pin (3) is a ceramic pin.

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